Harry Potter and the Magic of the Parallel Universe
by Amu4ever
Summary: A spell cast thousands of years ago; a ring made of magic with a firm purpose and a collision of the best and worst luck the Potter line could provide. All these led one Harry James Potter to cross over to a world he had never even known the existence of. Maybe this is another ploy of faith or maybe it's what he has always wanted.
1. The wisps of magic

This story has a twin! If you like this story, please check out sareen momo's **Harry Potter and the Magic of the Past**.

 **Betas** : sugar tear, SakuraSyaoranLiTRC and sareen momo

* * *

.

 **The wisps of magic  
**

.

Harry opened his tightly closed eyes and let out a frustrated sigh.

The dribble of small student groups passing by just wouldn't stop. If this kept up, he would never manage to sneak past them.

A quick glance confirmed that yet another group of students was coming around the corner just as the last were out of **sight**.

Shifting his weight Harry cursed silently as he hit himself - yet again - against one of the many brooms surrounding him. Only this time around the impact caused a distinctive thump that sounded incredibly loud in the completely silent broom closet Harry was hiding in.

The fact that the students, who had just been about to round the corner, had abruptly stopped mid-step wasn't very calming either.

Holding his breath, he hoped beyond hope that they would go on, so he could finally get out of his uncomfortable hunched position. He had already spent too much time in here and if he didn't hurry up he would be in a tricky position.

Peeking through the little gap between door and wall Harry relaxed instantly as he saw that the students had finally disappeared. No other students in sight either.

Deciding to use the chance while he had it Harry took a deep breath and stepped out of his hiding place. Taking a quick moment to look around he reassured himself that he was still alone. With a breath of relief, he started to run. Within a few moments he had his hand on the doorknob of his destination and pushed it open.

Wasting no time, he quickly closed the door behind him and took in the familiar sight of the _**girl's**_ (not absolutely sure about the apostrophe) bathroom he had spent so much time in in second year. Myrthe was nowhere to be seen though. Harry couldn't help but grin at that, because now he didn't need to worry about how to keep Mythe quiet about his presents in Hogwarts. Not that he had had any hope that the arguments Ron, **Hermione** and him had come up with would have kept her quiet for long anyway.

Shaking his head Harry quickly stepped to the sink, which he had stood before such a long time ago. Though opposite to last time he knew that there was no Basilisk down there ready to sink its deadly fangs into him without a moment's notice.

Hearing steps approach the bathroom Harry cursed mentally. The student group must have become suspicious and alerted a teacher. If a student had done that a few years' prior the teacher would have probably told them that they were imagining it. Or at the most they would have been told to be careful and to inform the staff immediately if they noticed anything else suspicious. With the current tense political situation and the involvement of the school in it, well that made things differently. Which was most likely why there were now even more rushing feet nearing his location.

Furrowing his brow Harry stared at the decorative snakes in front of him in determination. "Open," he hissed and watched with impatience as the entrance appeared way to slowly.

Hearing the steps nearly directly in front of the bathroom Harry swiftly jumped into the hole with a parting, "Close."

Half slithering half falling downwards Harry landed in a heap on the floor. Huffing beneath his breath about his damned luck he quickly got to his feet and cast a wandless and wordless Lumos.

He had quickly figured out that spells cast without using a wand were not traceable and therefore very convenient while on the run. With Hermione's help he also found out - to his and his friends great surprise - that he was a natural at wandless and wordless magic. It actually came easier to him then spells cast with a wand ever did.

But then again maybe that was a result of his magical core growing. After all his seventeenth birthday hadn't been all that long ago and his magical core was about to reach its maturity. The usual witch(?) or wizards core would have grown to its maturity before or exactly on their seventeenth birthday. Only those with great magical power and one or another form of a magical inheritance would need a few days longer for maturity to be reached. Stress could also cause magical maturity to be delayed.

Well, Harry had had enough stress to warrant it and the fluctuation of his magic was a clear proof that his magic was taking its time to reach maturity. This fluctuation was also what made using a wand incredibly difficult. Channeling magic through a wand requires the user to send a steady amount of magic through it during casting. So, with his magic being as unsettled as it was it was near impossible for Harry to use a wand at all until his core reaches maturity.

Wandless magic though does not require such tight control as you didn't need to channel magic through a wand, but only let it flow through your hand and shape it to fulfill whatever purposes the spell you want to cast should. The tricky part about wandless magic is convincing your magic to form the shapes you want it to and serve its purpose without a wand to tame it.

Closing his eyes Harry slowly focused more of his magic in his hand and watched with satisfaction as the small ball of light grew in his hand and brightened his surrounding so much that he could finally make his way to the main chamber without having to stumble about. (?)

Just before he entered the chamber he closed the hand without the ball of light around the mokeskin pouch hanging from his neck. Closing his eyes, he took a breath of reassurance and took the last few steps into the chamber.

… And quickly regretted it.

Before he knew what was going on the chamber was filled with a bright light and his body became uncomfortable cold. The light seemed to attack him from all sides. Choke him as he desperately tried to breathe.

His hand clutched the mokesking pouch tightly as he lost his control over his magic and the light in his hand fizzled out. He shut his eyes tightly and rushed to put his arm in front of his eyes to protect them from the brightness.

He could feel the blood in his veins slowing as the light continuously sucked all the warmth of his body. Leaving him shivering, breathless and desperately wanting to push the light away from him. To make it stop. Stop. STOP.

In a state of complete desperation Harry gathered his magic around his body and pushed the light back with all his might. It seemed to work for a moment, but then-

An electric pulse went through Harry's body with such intensity that it sent him sprawling to the floor. Barely being able to keep his head from hitting the ground he was only dimly aware of heat spreading through his body rapidly.

Through the dizziness induced by the lack of air it took him a moment to notice that the cold that had been forced into his body before now being replaced with waves of agonizing heat.

Harry breathed shallowly and gritted his teeth through the pain as he found the mokeskin pouch growing hotter and hotter in his grasp. Through his closed lids he saw the light slowly diminish before suddenly being brighter than ever before. Although this time he could see another light - a green one - joining the previously blinding white.

With his eyes as close to the floor as they were they were somewhat protected from the light and enabled him to painfully open his eyes to little slits.

What he saw made him close them again instantly. There was a brightly glowing green mist surrounding him pushing against what appeared to be a brightly glowing wall of white that surrounded him on all sides. Harry groaned as his eyes snapped shut. He could see dots in front of his eyes evidence of just how close he had gotten to being blinded.

Suddenly the pressure on him increased drastically as the wall of light pushed the mist so close to him that he coughed and chocked on the magic squeezing itself into his body. The pain instantly reached unprecedented highs and all the air left his lungs with a whoosh as body finally crumbled to unconsciousness.

Harry found himself surrounded by darkness floating in an endless stream of nothingness. It was comfortable. Like what he would imagine lying on a cloud would feel like. Warm, soft and surrounded by feelings of calm and serenity. All of this was accompanied with a feeling of freedom Harry had never felt before.

Before he could stop himself he laughed in joy and let his hair ruffle in a non-existent wind. He didn't know where he was or why he was here but it didn't matter. He felt like all his worries disappear with the waves of darkness flowing by.

He lost all sense of time and forgot all that was before. He drifted, he floated and embraced the darkness. For an eternally long and at the same time painfully short moment he simply was.

That moment ended quickly enough though as he found himself suddenly standing at Platform 9 3/4. It was empty except for him and not a sound could be heard.

Slowly blinking his eyes, he looked around and took in the familiar surrounding his memories slowly returning to him.

"I… I am Harry… just Harry…," he found himself saying to the empty space. "And I was… on an important… errand? Or am I still doing the errand? Is… is this an illusion?"

For a moment he was quiet and tried to collect himself. He had to remember what he did before. Somehow he had the feeling that it was important.

Furrowing his brow, he slowly went to a bench and sat down. All the while keeping an eye on his surrounding in case something happened.

Furrowing his brow, he tried to remember once again.

"My friends… Hermione and Ron… send me to gather… um… sent me to gather…" for a moment he stared confused around him. He couldn't remember. He tried to focus even more but no images came to mind.

"Sent me to gather… something. And to do that I was in… Hogwarts? Yes, I was in Hogwarts," he whispered into the silence. He didn't know why he was speaking aloud, but it helped him to keep his focus.

"I needed to be careful. I couldn't allow myself to be seen, because Hermione, Ron and I were in a tent! … Um… no, that's not right? Is it? … No, I needed to be careful, because of the war. Oh, the war! Voldemort! The hunt! The Dursleys! The Horcruxes! … Yes, I remember now! I was in the castle to take care of something… something important related to the war!"

Harry nearly shouted the last part as horror slowly dawned on him. There was no way he could stay here - wherever here was - he needed to go back and take care of whatever he needed to take care of in the castle. He could clearly remember the face Hermione and Ron made when they discussed his expedition to Hogwarts and their faces alone made painfully clear how important whatever he was in Hogwarts for was.

"I see you have regained your memories, Master," a dull voice suddenly said from directly beside him.

Startled Harry looked away from the train he had been intensely staring at and snapped his gaze to his left. Where before there had been simply an empty part of the bench there was now a hooded figure sitting in a relaxed pose. Harry couldn't make out the face beneath the hood, but he had the distinctive feeling that the other was frowning.

"I have never quite managed to understand human greed. It is a mystery to me, how not being able to own something can lead to the wish to destroy what you can't have and who owns it. It is truly astounding how many souls have been brought to me simply because of greed or jealousy."

Harry could feel his eyes widen as the realization of who - or what - exactly was sitting beside him hit him fast and hit him hard.

The being beside him sighed.

"The greed and jealousy of a man long past has forced me to bring you here. You are my Master, though I am not your servant."

Harry stared at Death unblinkingly and wondered silently to himself how he always managed to get into those situations. To make matters worse he was nearly sure Death was smirking at him under his hood.

"All the hallows accepted you and took some of your magic and gave you some of their ancient sentient one in exchange. It is a contract older than time itself. The hallows have been waiting for a long time for their perfect match."

Harry couldn't help but stare at the being beside him. "Sentient magic? Contract? The hallows? Perfect match?"

Death turned its body more towards him and spoke in the same dull tone as before. "Sentient magic develops in a region or in objects that are filled with great amounts of magic for a long period of time. For example, the Hogwarts Castle has been saturated with magic for years and has become sentient. That means the Castle has something akin to a conscious and is able to make certain decisions itself. That is how whole sections of Hogwarts can appear and disappear apparently out of nowhere."

The being paused and waited for Harry to take the information in before continuing.

"The kind of characteristics an object or region develops depends on what the spelled used on it or in its surroundings are for and with what intent they were made. It is also strongly influenced by the reason it was originally made or if it's a region by the history the region has. This is also how horror houses came into existence. There was a too long history of negative intent and emotions in the buildings causing them to attract evil ghosts. Due to ghosts in general constantly giving off a small amount of magic those houses plagued by many evil ghosts develop an evil intent. Or to put it in another way they start eating people and let them disappear."

Harry couldn't suppress the shudder as he thought about all the horror stories he had once heard maybe having more truth in them than he was comfortable with.

"Now, the hallows - consisting of the elder wand, the resurrection stone and the invisibility cloak - have been surrounded by many witches, wizards and therefore their magic for a long period of time. Nearly from the **beginning** of time to be exact. This being so they have long since developed a will of their own. Originally their only ability was to decide which witch or wizard would be compatible enough with their magic to claim the position of Master of Death. However, over the years they developed a protective strike towards their temporary owners."

Taking merely a second to let Harry try to process the information he went on with his explanation.

"Those became even more apparent when they chose you. As this was their purpose of existence they slowly but steadily exchanged magic with you. Strengthening your bond with them and theirs with you. Additionally, this served to make me aware of their claim on you. This contract they offered to you via the magic exchange was accepted by you when you used each of the hallows individually in a potentially life-threatening situation. It is of no consequence whether you used them consciously or not. The cloak was the first to form its bond with you followed by the elder wand and finally when you clutched to the pouch containing the ring before you fell unconscious."

Harry opened his mouth to say something, but was quickly interrupted.

"It is of no consequence that you didn't use the ring's power to call ghosts to aid you. You held on to it with your magic flaring around you and into the ring freely with the intent to protect yourself. This caused the sentient magic in the ring to react with a counter attack against the force attacking you. All the while it used your magic to color it and boost its strength. Through that the bond with the last hallow was sealed and you were now known to me as my Master."

The entity paused for a moment before turning its body even further towards Harry.

"The hallows choose you Master, because your personality, ideals, magic and all that makes you resonate perfectly with their sentient magic. Seeing as their original magic - before it was altered by the magic surrounding it - came from me that means your magic also resonates good with mine. Therefore, you are the best suited to be my Master."

Seeing Harry open his mouth he spoke up before he could be interrupted.

"I won't explain to you what it means to be my Master. Not now at least. There are a few things you need to be aware of before our time is up."

There was a heavy silence for a moment and as Harry suddenly realized just how important the entities next words would be.

"When you entered that room with the resurrection stone in with you, you triggered a curse that has been placed on that room a long time ago. This is due to the stone having been in the possession of Salazar Slytherin once upon a time. While he could never resonate with it properly he was intrigued by it. The curse you triggered was originally intended as a last safety measure to keep people from stealing it.

The curse was not made with malice in mind, but with the greed of other people. Opposite to general believe Salazar Slytherin was a caring man. He wanted to keep the ring in his possession to keep other people who might use it for the wrong things or wanted to steal its big amount of sentient magic away from it. At that time someone with that kind of power and the wrong intention could have caused humans to kill many more innocents that they thought to be witches. So, Salazar placed the curse on the room to activate if anyone but him or his close relatives had the ring on their person without his explicit permission.

The curse was not originally a curse but rather a charm intended to bring the victim to Salazar Slytherin himself. Now, seeing as he was already long dead at the time the spell intended to transport turned destructive. The spell tried to take you back in time without being powerful enough to do so. Due to not only your fluctuating magic fighting it back, but also the sentient magic of the resurrection ring I was forced to step in. However, the only possibility to save you was to let your protecting fluctuating magic, the counter attacking sentient magic and the spell turned curse combine into something not harmful.

This means that when you wake up you will find yourself in a world, which is completely alike to the one you grew up with in some aspects and completely different in others. There might also be some unexpected changes to your body. After all you were saturated by a combination of your own unsettled magic and sentient magic while the magic of the spell pressed on you from the outside. Sentient magic always leaves without fulfilling a purpose. If it does leave that is. That will have to be seen.

Anyway, it is nearly time for you to awaken. Though you should be aware that due to keeping the balance of the worlds it was necessary to change your history a bit. As soon as you are awake you will know what I mean."

Before Harry could even attempt to ask any of his questions the world faded to black and he was floating again. He tried to fight it, tried to dig his way back to the station, but it was no use. Death had just told him that he was his Master and going to wake up in different world and he didn't even give him a minute to get over his shock. He could feel the panic settling in and tried to focus on the darkness instead, because he knew panic wouldn't get any answers from Death either.

With a frustrated sigh he resigned himself to wait and see and try to at least get one word in edgeways the next time he saw Death. Or maybe figure out whether or not it was possible to kill Death.

With that thought his conscious faded and he let the darkness embrace him tightly bathing him in soothing comfort and images of dead Deaths.


	2. The arrival

**AN** : The twin of this story will probably be updated within this week.

 **Beta** : sugar tear, FruitPastilles, SakuraSyaoranLiTRC

* * *

.

 **The arrival**

.

Harry woke to the feeling of being squeezed through a tube; a feeling alarmingly similar to apparition. His sluggish mind was still struggling to grasp the situation while his stomach already reacted in its usual violent way. Bile was burning its way up his throat as he was released of the tight hold whatever it was had had on him before. Though there was no time for him to breathe a sigh of relieve as he connected with a hard unforgiving surface, face first.

Groaning in pain he lay there for a moment completely dazed. He had hit his head quite hard on what felt like a marble floor. He was also aware of blood slowly dripping out of his nose.

"So typical," Harry grumbled to himself, head still pressed against the floor. "I bet if I were to lift my head and open my eyes I would look right into the eyes of a Basilisk."

'Quite right you are, dear,' a soft voice said from out of nowhere.

Harry flinched and stiffened, not expecting for someone else to be here. He tensed even more as he realised that he didn't even know where _here_ was. Or how he had come to be wherever he was for that matter.

'Relax, dear one, no harm shall befall you in this place.' There was a small pause before a sigh could be heard. 'That is unless you bring it upon yourself….again.' Another sigh followed. 'You are terrible rash sometimes, dear.'

Opening his eyes Harry blinked a few times. The floor he was on was strangely familiar and at the same time not. It was very confusing.

The sound of feathers fluttering met his ears. 'Yes, I guess it does look different here.'

Feeling strangely calm considering the situation Harry slowly looked up. He could only gape as his gaze went up, up, up the long body of a snake; a snake that looked awfully familiar. Letting his gaze slide up further he nearly choked on his own breath. That was no snake like he had first assumed. He felt a shudder go down his spine as his gaze locked with the yellow eyes of a Basilisk. The moment their eyes met Harry felt frozen in his place; completely unable to move. His muscles were slacking more and more as his mind went blank.

Being as fixated on the eyes above him as he was he was startled when a soft weight settled on his head. He was even more shocked when said weight resulted in his head meeting the hard floor yet again.

'Tut, tut, tut, I warned you, didn't I?' The weight on his head shifted and he felt one of his hair strands being picked up. 'Then again you were always bad at heeding advice, weren't you?' He could feel the hair strand being settled down again and another strand being picked up. For a moment he had the strangest image of being preened.

Having his head pressed to the floor as it was it was difficult to talk, but Harry responded anyway. "Well, actually you didn't give me any advice at all. You just confirmed an absolutely ridiculous statement that I was frustrated enough to nearly believe."

The only response he got was an exasperated sigh and a sharp tug at his hair. The weight on his head shifted again and the hair tugging continued on the other side of his head.

After another especially hard tug Harry spoke again. "Not to be rude, but what are you doing with my hair? And…who are you?"

'Isn't it obvious? I am preening you.' The voice responded and kept tugging on his hair.

"Pree-….but why?!"

There was the soft sound of feathers fluttering as another hair strand was attacked by the vicious being on his head.

'I am doing it to tame your terrible ruffled feathers, of course. Really, you should take better care of them.'

Harry was completely bewildered. This was a very strange conversation indeed and if he didn't know any better he would have thought he was talking to a bird.

'And you know my name, dear one.' He felt the weight on his head shift and suddenly there were two big yellow eyes directly in front of him. He felt like he was staring at the Basilisk all over again. The all-too-familiar gaze pinning him down. 'After all you were the one to give it to me.'

Harry was completely still as his eyes roamed over the soft white feathers of his first friend. He blinked rapidly in an attempt to rid himself of the image. After all this couldn't be, wasn't possible, as his familiar had died. He would never forget the moment the stray curse had shot her straight out of the air.

He could feel tears gathering in his eyes as he stared at the loving yellow eyes of his snow owl. "Hedwig…."

'Yes, dear one.' The same soft voice answered and this time he knew it was her voice, Hedwig's voice.

"But how…you are-…I mean-!" He took a deep calming breath. "You are just a bird! Birds can't speak!"

The loving eyes narrowed to angry slits and before he knew it he was viciously attacked by a sharp beak; again and again. 'What do you mean with,' her attacks became faster with every word. 'JUST,' an especially hard peck followed, 'a bird?!'

Without thinking he freed one of his hands from under his body and softly petted her ruffled feathers. The bird on his head huffed and he was relieved to note that the attacks stopped. The head disappeared from his view and he just knew she had pushed out her chest and was glaring down at him; like she used to do when Pigeons was anywhere near her.

'If you would have paid better attention you would have realised that I am indeed not speaking to you. Or did you see my beak move when I talked, you insolent boy?'

"But…I mean-…how…?" Harry was completely lost. He couldn't help but wonder whether or not he had hit his head too hard when he first arrived. It was a very hard floor after all….

'Your head is perfectly fine. Well, except for your obvious disability to treat others with the proper respect.' Harry couldn't help the little twitch of his lips as he listened to Hedwig grumble on and on about 'being under appreciated' and that 'should have known' and something about 'messy feathers'. He could practically feel her glare pierce his skull while she ranted. He did his best to keep a serious face before refocusing on their previous topic.

"Eh…Hedwig…I am sorry, but, eh, if you don't talk to me and I didn't hit my head then…how can I hear you?"

Harry heard Hedwig sigh again before the weight disappeared from his head entirely and she landed on the floor directly in front of him. He lifted his head a bit to see her better. 'Harry, dear, you don't _hear_ me. Not in the literal sense anyway. Our conversation is only in your head.'

With that Harry let his head fall back onto the floor with a soft thump. "So, you are telling me…I am hearing things?...Again?!"

A hard peck to his head was the fast response.

'You were never _hearing_ _things_ Harry. As I am sure you remember very well the Basilisk did speak. It wasn't your fault that the other humans were not able to hear it.'

Harry's despairing snort made Hedwig huff angrily. 'Really, stop with that nonsense. Being able to do things other can't isn't a bad thing. It makes you the person you are. It makes you my dear one, my chosen one, mine. So, stop being ridiculous and start acting more like the brave, determined and very lovable young man you are.' Nearly as an afterthought she pecked him again. 'And why are you still on the floor? You are going to mess up your feathers even more! And after I preened them so carefully too. Up, up, I say!'

Stumbling to his feet with his eyes tightly closed Harry shuffled with his feet not sure what to do. After all he couldn't be sure that there weren't other surprises waiting for him if he made a wrong move. Also, he hadn't heard any noise coming from the Basilisk during their conversation….

'Better…now, as I was saying, you don't hear me talking. This is due to me speaking in your head. You are the only one talking out loud. We are mentally connected. In fact we have finally reached the proper bond a familiar and their chosen one should have.' Harry could hear her fluttering with her feathers before she landed on his shoulder. 'No one beside you can hear me and once you have trained a bit no one beside me will hear you when you think to me. You can think of it as a two-way road if you want. My thoughts can come through to you and yours to me. Of course it is not something you can do overnight. You will have to train. Once you have you can specifically think about something that you want me to hear. It makes it easier for me too, because then I can focus on any given tasks better and don't need to constantly focus on you.'

"So, you are saying I would be able to talk to you telepathically just like that?"

He earned a nearly affectionate peck for his efforts. 'No, as I said, AFTER you trained you can do that. Right now you will have to at least mumble what you want to say to me if you want me to hear. You are currently lacking the proper focus to converse with me otherwise. It is like when one uses their wings for the first time the muscles need to be trained before you will be able to fly.'

"Does distance matter?"

'No, like your thoughts will reach you as I reached you whenever you needed me. We always had a familiar connection, but now it is finally able to grow. There were too many interfering factors before."

There was a pause before Harry tensed. "And…and how are you even alive? I mean-…you…because of me-….you were…-" A soft head snuggled close to his.

'Oh, dear one, you mean how I am alive?' Harry only nodded mutely. 'I am your familiar. As long as you are alive I am too. Your magic is deeply connected with my very soul….I may disappear for a while, but I will always come back as long as you live. Not even Death could keep me away from you, dear one.'

Hedwig snuggled even closer. 'Beside Death wouldn't do that anyway, that git. He has sped the process up, so I could return to you faster. After all he needs me to explain everything to you.' Hedwig huffed indignantly. 'Really, one would think Death would at least take the time to explain to its master the situation he had brought him into, but, no, of course that would be too much to ask. Souls to reap and Deaths to confirm, bah, he is simply gaining too much pleasure out of messing with its own master. Probably has some serious case of inferiority complex.'

Harry could feel the air sizzling around him, like small electric shocks buzzing past him. Hedwig only huffed. 'And apparently Death is a Stalker too, figures.' One of the electric shocks missed Harry's ears only per a few inches making the hair in his nape stay up on end. Hedwig who had swiftly avoided it only huffed. 'Doesn't know how to take critic either.'

He could only shudder as the air slowly regained its normal balance. 'Well, anyway, you can open your eyes. The Basilisk won't kill you nor will its gaze. In fact he has no intention to hurt you at all.'

There was a pause in which Harry could practically feel Hedwig's glee. 'He never had any intention to do so, but just to be sure I had a little chat with him before you woke up. I do know some cocks who would have no problem with singing a little lullaby for him after all.'

Harry's eyes snapped open at that and he couldn't help but gape at a very smug looking Hedwig.

"You threatened a giant snake?!"

Hedwig started preening herself and answered nonchalantly. 'Oh, well, what can I say? I am just a bird after all.' He couldn't help but blink at his familiar bewildered.

He was about to comment when he heard the massive snake they had been talking about move around in front of him. It sounded like it was pacing.

" **Your familiar is a true menace, you know that?"**

Harry's head swiveled around to stare at the Basilisk.

" **I was only slithering closer in worry for your well-being and in bewilderment to your sudden appearance and the bird started attacking me with its vicious beak. As if I would ever attack anyone without a proper reason, I am no brute."**

The Basilisk made a sound similar to a snort. **"Opposite to some beings Basilisks are famous for their manners. Well, that and our potent healing agent."**

It snorted again. **"And I have absolutely no idea why this insufferable bird wouldn't stop screeching on about cocks. After all while I find the sound of their clucking most annoying, I am no youngling to die of such an insignificant even."** There was a small pause. **"Though I guess the cock who dares disturbing my peace wouldn't be as lucky. Way too cocky for their own good, they are."** The Basilisk snorted again. **"Maybe the younglings who died due to their clucking were simply bodily unable to stand their arrogance."**

'What did you call me, snake?' Came the sharp demand of a very indignant bird.

Harry blinked slowly and simply shook his head. Trying to understand this right now wouldn't be of much use. Sometimes he wondered if miracles and catastrophes would never cease to happen to him. His acceptance of the madness surrounding him as reality was a true token of his previous experiences.

" **I called you what you are, insufferable bird."**

He shook his head again. This was unreal even for his standards and he had had more than his fair share of strange situations and conversations. One of his good friends was Luna Lovegood after all and he was Harry Potter with a serious case of Potter luck.

Hedwig hooted loudly and flew towards the Basilisk entangling him in a strange sort of dance. Both of them tried to get the better of the other with none of them having success.

This situation was indeed very strange, not of this world even.

"Not of this world….huh…"

Ignoring the bickering bird and Basilisk Harry looked around the room. It didn't take him more than a moment to realise why the floor was so familiar. This was the Chamber of Secrets and yet it was different. Whereas there had been nothing but cold stone and statues before, there was now a huge beautifully decorated hall.

On both sides there were statues of wizards and witches, dragons, Veelas, Nymphs and all kinds of creatures and beings imaginable. Harry was even fairly sure that the small statue towards the back of the hall was of an imp. The statues didn't appear to be sorted in any particular system, but then again he didn't even know who or what half of these sculptures and statues represented.

At the end of the hall, behind the two wildly arguing creatures, there was a small natural lake. It even looked like there were small fish and other creatures in it. Behind the lake was the mouth Harry remembered the snake in his second year coming out of, but instead of a snake water was constantly flowing out of it. On the far left side Harry could see a small part of the lake flowing down into nothingness. It looked as though it went down the edge and simply disappeared.

Shaking his head Harry could only assume it was some kind of magic and resumed his investigation of the room.

Looking up he saw the Sky, or what appeared to be the Sky, reminding him of the ceiling of the Great Hall. Apparently today was a sunny day as there were no clouds to be seen. Studying the Sky for a moment Harry let his eyes drift again.

It was painfully obvious that this was not the Chamber of Secrets he knew. It was similar, though only in some aspects. The size of the hall was the same and the Basilisk was here as well, but unless this was also somehow located in Hogwarts that was where the similarities ended.

This Chamber of Secrets was a bright, elegant hall that made one feel at home and at ease. There was no feeling of threat here and it was well-lit as well; the bright Sky above and the floating balls of magic made sure of that.

Blinking a few times Harry watched one of the balls of magic drift past him slowly. Holding up his hand he stopped it mid-flight and stared at it confused. It wasn't hot like he had thought it would be. The bright yellow ball of energy only emitted comfortable warmth. This would explain why it wasn't cold in here as it was in the Chamber of Secrets he had been in when he was twelve. Letting the ball of magic go he watched as it went back in its routine slowly drifting away.

'Can't catch me, snake? One would have thought one, who claims to be of such a superior race would have been able to deal with a mere bird by now.' Harry heard Hedwig's chuckle in his mind. 'Or are you perhaps not as capable as you wish to believe…?' Hedwig chuckled again. Out of the corner of his right eye he saw a very annoyed Basilisk snap at a highly-amused owl. His friend's wings flattered wildly as the bird flew around the Basilisk in circles. The snow owl avoided any and all attacks with graceful flaps of her wings.

Ignoring them he sighed and looked around once more. The closer look revealed that between some of the sculptures and statues there were bookshelves and elegant armchairs in different shades of blue. Looking up to the Sky again he noticed that the armchairs matched the colour above their respective spaces perfectly.

" **You little-"**

Hearing a loud splash Harry swiftly turned around and couldn't believe his eyes as he saw Hedwig calmly preening her feathers while a very angry looking Basilisk slowly emerged from the lake. On top of the Basilisks head was some kind of seaweed and it had its mouth full of fishes that it was desperately trying to spit out. Apparently fish was not the Basilisks preferred kind of food if the way its features were pinched was anything to go by.

He couldn't help it the scene was so ridiculous that he broke out in half-hysterical laugher and simply couldn't stop. His believed to be dead owl had just tricked a Basilisk into falling into a lake.

His laughter stopped abruptly as he remembered his surroundings. He was sure that this was the Chamber of Secrets, but not the one he knew. Recalling his previous thoughts he mumbled the same words to himself again.

"Not from this world…."

He looked at the Basilisk doing its best to hit a very smug looking owl with its tail and frowned. The Basilisk looked exactly like the one he killed in second year.

"Hedwig, where exactly are we?"

The mock fight of the two magical creatures ended abruptly as Hedwig flew back towards him leaving a livid looking Basilisk behind.

'We are in the Chamber of Secrets, dear.' Hedwig's voice whispered in his head as she settled on the floor once again. 'The Chamber of Secrets, Hogwarts, Great Britain, Earth.' She elaborated after a moment.

"But not the Chamber of Secrets I know. Probably not even the Great Britain I grew up in."

Hedwig hooted softly. 'You are right, dear one. This is neither the Chamber you know nor is it located in the Great Britain you are familiar with. We are in a parallel universe to the one you know.' She tilted her head in the way only owls could. 'And that's exactly why you need me to guide you. Death granted me insight in some of the history and workings of this world. With this information I, as your familiar, will help you to find your way in a to you unknown world.'

"A parallel universe….?" Harry mumbled to himself. "I have heard of those before. I think Dudley had an obsession with a series focused on that topic." He hummed thoughtful. "Does that mean that everything will be different here?"

Hedwig tilted her head to the other side. 'Different it will be, yes, though it is a parallel, so some fundamental things will stay the same. You will recognise many of the people here or their appearance anyway. You must remember that they may look the same and even have the same name, but that doesn't mean that they are the same person.'

The yellow eyes gazed into his with deep wisdom reflecting in them. 'Try not to let the shadows of your past mist your view, dear one. It could lead to very dangerous situations.'

Harry crouched down in front of his friend and absent-mindedly petted her feathers. "I will try my friend. I will try." He started blankly ahead for a moment before speaking again. "….Do you think I will ever be able to return? See Hermione and Ron again? Or Remus?"

A soft sad hoot was the only response he received.

Harry sighed before nodding determinedly to himself. "I guess I will have to think about that later. Maybe we will come up with some solution…" He trailed off as he realised that this was something he couldn't focus on until he was more with the way this world worked. His shoulders slumped as he ruffled his hair in frustration.

Hedwig softly pecked his petting hand. 'You are messing them up again, dear.' Kind yellow eyes captured his own. 'Don't worry, dear one. Everything will become clear in time, it always does. For the meantime stop worrying so much your friends will be fine.' Harry only snorted disbelievingly, but didn't retort.

" **My friend will be here soon."** The Basilisk suddenly spoke up from behind Hedwig. Slithering closer as he swiftly disposed of any remaining seaweed on his body. " **If you prefer not to make his acquaintance you should go now. Jump down the edge the water disappears from. Imagine the place you want to go to as you fall and you shall arrive there safely."**

"Your friend….?" Harry paused for a moment recalling what Death had said to him. "The enchantment was intended to….-! ….oh! Oh!" Realisation suddenly lit up in his eyes. "Your friend doesn't happen to be….Salazar Slytherin?"

There was an agreeing hiss from the giant snake as it narrowed his eyes towards Harry. " **Yes, that is exactly who I am talking about. And I am quite sure that your dramatic entrance must have …startled him quite a bit**." The snake shook its head and its eyes glittered in a mischievously knowing way. " **He is quite protective, Salazar. You should keep that in mind in the future.** " It mumbled something under its breath and hissed excitedly. " **Yes, you should definitely remember that, little Parselmouth. After all not everyone is immune to the deadly gaze of a Basilisk."**

"Deadly gaze…oh! OH!" Harry was just about to question the snake when he was unceremoniously picked up by his cloak. The Basilisk had its dangerous teeth buried in the material mere inches above his neck and proceeded to slither with him towards the edge. Carrying him all the while as a lioness would her cup and startling Harry so much that he instinctively went for his wand. Before he could even reach it though, he was already dropped.

Gripping his wand tightly he was about to shout the levitation spell when Hedwig's soft voice stopped him. 'Don't worry, dear one. Simply think of a destination. The rude snake wasn't lying.'

Imagining a side-street of Diagon Alley as in-detail as possible, he could only hope that it looked similar enough in this world for him to appear in the right place. Splinching was a horrible experience that he had rather avoid after all.

Instead of feeling like he was being squeezed through a tube Harry found himself and Hedwig being embraced by what felt like a soft blanket.

In the distance he could hear the quietening voice of the Basilisk. " **This promises to be highly amusing. I wonder how long it will take for them to realise that…-"** The darkness around them tightened in a lieu of a firm hug as Harry became aware of the magic flowing around them. No, it wasn't flawing around them but with them. They were swiftly carried away riding on what felt like a stream of magic. **"-…found…Shame I am not allowed to….."**

The voice faded out completely and for a moment the magical stream and the darkness was all there was. Then, without warning, the stream disappeared from beneath them and the loud sound of a busy street nearby replaced the quietness of the space between.


	3. The brand of Death

**AN** : Thank you for the reviews, made the corrections that were suggestions ^_^

 **Beta** : sugar tear, OnixMoon

* * *

.

 **The brand of Death**

.

Harry swore loudly as his face connected with cobblestone. He cursed again when he realised that his nose had started bleeding yet again.

"Isn't there even one way of magical transportation out there that won't end with me stumbling around?" He grimaced as his stomach clenched violently. "Or make me sick for that matter?"

Slowly pushing himself up into a kneeling position he blinked his eyes rapidly to rid himself of the dots still dancing in his view. Grumbling he pressed one hand to his nose in an attempt to stop the bleeding. "Obviously no matter which universe you are in wizarding transportation still sucks."

Harry heard a disapproving hoot from beside him. 'Oh? And what do you call flying a broomstick then? As you are obviously not counting it as a means of transportation?'

Looking around he saw Hedwig perching on a trashcan not far from him. She was watching him with amused eyes not one of her feathers out of place. Sighing to himself he shook his head and smiled fondly. Apparently not even wizarding transportation was capable of making her look anything but in prime condition.

"Brooms are different they can be controlled. Apperation and Portkeys are simply vile inventions that regularly throw people around in an uncontrolled manner."

Hedwig tilted her head. 'Maybe it's not the means of transportation that can't be controlled, but the wizard using it that is out of balance.'

Harry dusted his clothes off and chuckled slightly. "Did you just call me unbalanced?"

Out of the corner of his eyes he could just barely glimpse a mischievous sparkle in the owls yellow eyes. 'Maybe, yes. You could definitely work on your landing.' Finished with his task Harry met Hedwig's exasperated gaze. 'And you messed up your feathers again! 'Shaking his head he chuckled at his friends antics.

Huffing Hedwig spread her wings and flew over to his shoulder. Once on his shoulder she eyed his hair disapprovingly. Obviously letting it go she scanned their surroundings. 'Well, at least you choose a good destination, dear one.'

Realising that he hadn't given their current location any thought Harry scanned their surroundings quickly. He grinned. It appeared they had indeed arrived at the location he wanted them to; a small well-lit side street of Diagon Alley. Beside them there were only trashcans in the small space between the tall buildings on both sides. Nothing of interest could be found here. His grin widened. It looked as unassuming as he remembered; the perfect spot to watch while remaining unnoticed. No dark shady people anywhere in sight either.

Tilting his head Harry listened to the familiar loud busy noises from the shopping district. He smiled to himself as he remembered finding the street in the summer before his third year at Hogwarts. He had been exploring Diagon Alley at that time. It had been a fun time, despite all the stress he had been in after the incident with Aunt Marge. It was a shame Fudge just had to ruin it.

Feeling a soft wing touch his cheek Harry blinked. Understanding loving eyes looked at him as Hedwig's soft voice echoed in his head. 'You should keep in mind that this isn't the place you are familiar with. Things are a bit different here.'

Staring at the light coming from the end of the street Harry petted his friend's soft feathers. "Different….? In what way?"

Hedwig tilted her head before responding. 'I believe when your friend showed you the time turner she told you how delicate time is. She probably also explained to you how one little change could have major consequences, right?'

"Yes, she was very adamant about it too." He could still remember her reluctance to show him the time turner at first. "Said that was the reason why time turners were forbidden."

The owl inclined her beak a bit. 'That is true, dear one. It is also how parallel universes came to be-'

He raised his eyebrows confused. "They came to be due to time turners?"

Narrowing her eyes Hedwig pecked his cheek. 'No, as you would have known if you hadn't interrupted me.' Pausing for a moment she glared at him to make sure there wouldn't be any further interruptions. 'As I was saying parallel universes exist due to differences. Something in the past of each parallel universe caused them to develop in their own unique way. From small things like a plant not dying out to the original continent never splitting into the ones we know.' Tilting her head to the side she added, "All the parallel universes resemble each other in some way. It is that reason why they are parallels and sometimes even blurred mirror images of each other.'

"And what is different in this world, Hedwig? What makes it so unique?"

Hedwig hooted before gazing at him with a Dumbledore-like twinkle in her eyes. 'A lot of things, dear one, a lot of things...' She paused thoughtfully before adding, 'Too many to name them all, too many to even attempt to discover them all.' She pecked him affectionately. 'As I said before it is important for you to keep an open mind. It is another world despite all the similarities it holds to your own.'

Flapping her wings she flew from his shoulder back to the trashcan. Once she was perched she eyed him up and down. "Now, before you can go see the differences for yourself, there is something else that needs immediate attention." Fixing him with serious eyes she continued. "Focus on yourself, dear.'

Staring at her blankly he could only repeat her words uncomprehendingly, "Focus on myself…?"

Staring at him intently his friend tilted her head. 'Yes, it is very much necessary. Death told you, you would notice the changes immediately upon waking. Apparently, the git, forgot to factor in how much of a distraction a new world can be.' Flapping her wings agitatedly Hedwig sighed. 'Focus on your magic, dear.'

He closed his eyes with an uneasy feeling building in his stomach. Pushing it out of his mind he focused on the task at hand. Breathing in deeply he blocked out all the noises surrounding him. The sounds from the busy street nearby faded out completely. Breathing out he relaxed his posture and determinedly reached for the warm ball he associated with his magic.

It didn't respond. Instead a red-hot inferno met him head on searing hot, bright and angry. A yelp escaped his lips. The magic fought his control, wanting out, out, out. It screamed, hissed, rattling its shackles. Heart thumbing loudly he tried to hold on, but to no avail. Pain caused him to gasp, to clutch his cloak tightly and pant for breath; the sizzling inferno burning its way through its restrains.

Harry fell to his knees; bit his cheek to keep himself from crying out. The pressure inside him built more and more tearing at his control. Wings flapped in the distance. He clenched his eyes shut tighter, cloaking his magic firmly around himself. His magic calmed slightly. Wary, Harry, loosened his grip on it slowly, relaxing.

He realised his mistake the second after. The magic burst from him: an untameable inferno rushing wild from every pore in his body howling fast and howling faster out of him, shattering trashcans, slamming against walls, bending them inwards, loosening bricks, worming under cobblestones and flinging them high into the air only for them to clatter down to the ground and break into pieces which the magic caught again spun around him in a whirlwind twister of debris and dust, swallowing him with a cloak of wind and magic and chaos. It saturated the air. It shoved itself down his throat and filled his lungs too full to breathe. It burned its way into the road beneath him leaving scorched scars like lightning in the stone and screamed its way through his ears and into his mind violently knocking around his thoughts and memories. His muscles twitched. His body ached. His heart thumped away, each beat a throbbing thrust of piercing pain hammering hard against his chest. Screams echoed in his ears.

And then it passed. Dust hung in the air like mist. It was all too still.

Relief filled Harry when he could finally breathe again. He tumbled to the ground and let the cool stone soothe the lingering fire in his veins. If he could just stay like this forever.

'Watch out!'

Snapping his eyes open Harry stiffened. Waves of magic closed in on him from all sides. A morbid sort of fascination overtook him. It was beautiful; lights of all colours lightening the air. Gasping out a breath he did his best to prepare for the impact. He failed. The waves hit him and hit him hard, sending his nerves on fire, freezing his thoughts in ice. He trembled uncontrollable. The magic saturated his every fibre; changing him from the inside out. Melting, reshaping and reforming his very being with every breath he took; over and over again, a vicious cycle.

When he finally gained control of his body he was a trembling mess on the floor. Absolute chaos could be heard from the alleyway; screams, crashes, children crying and roars filled the air. Harry lay there panting and watched with hazy eyes as spells of all colours and shapes flew past the entrance of the street.

And then the pain ebbed out. His muscles unclenched and his eyes closed. The pressure on his mind and body gone; his magic settled.

If it weren't for the chaos he could still hear loud and clear, he would have thought the incident had never happened. His magic felt so calm now, humming happily beneath his skin.

He let out a sigh and simply breathed in the dusty air, relaxing further.

'Destroying public property on your very first day here, dear?'

Harry choked out a breathless laugh and scanned the previously pristine street. His eyes trailed over the sad remains of the trashcans and the bricks lying everywhere. The buildings to both sides appeared close to collapsing and were most likely only hold together by magic. From the alleyway running feet and shouting voices could be heard, panic and alarm evident in them.

"Well, it could have been worse, I guess?"

Harry was sure that if owls could roll their eyes Hedwig would have down so. Instead she fixed him with an intense stare from her high perch on top of a pile of loose bricks; obviously settling for the next best thing.

'Tut, tut, tut, always for a dramatic entrance, aren't you?'

Meeting her gaze, he grinned softly.

"You wouldn't have me any other way."

Hedwig merely hooted exasperated before eying him critically. Her gaze wandered over his torn-up clothes, the layer of dust covering his skin, his dirty face and then settled on his hair. Her eyes narrowed. Her whole body tensed and her chest puffed out before she forcibly returned her focus to his face, deflating instantly.

'How does it feel, dear one?'

Surprised at the sudden change of subject Harry blinked confused.

'Your magic how does it feel?' Hedwig elaborated.

Hesitating only for a moment Harry reached for his magic, carefully, warily; taking every caution to prevent the earlier events from repeating. He didn't have to look for long. His magic was humming beneath his skin waiting to be used.

Gone was the burning heat and biting cold and in its place was a comfortable flame that heated his whole body. It was no longer restricted to a specific form like before, no ball or inferno, no, it simply was; circulating in his body like his blood. It was strange really. It felt as though his magic had finally truly become one with him. It was so easy to feel, to reach for and he knew it would be just as easy to use.

Holding up one of his hands Harry stared at the dust clinging to his torn clothes. Taking a deep breath he let a small part of his magic loose; coaxing it to clean and mend his clothes. The reaction was immediate. A warm burst of colour poured from his body and enveloped him completely. It tingled, tickled and made him feel truly free for the first time in his life. As though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders; one he hadn't known the existence of previously. It didn't matter. His magic danced happily across his skin and he smiled brightly.

"Fantastic," he breathed not sure whether he was talking to himself or to Hedwig. "It feels… as though I am reacquainting myself with an old friend, discovering a new part of myself, fresh night air and flying in the sky. Like a warm summer breeze, a hug from Mrs. Weasley and the tightly leashed force of the sea, ever changing." He smiled at Hedwig through the slowly receding light. "It makes me happy and warm and… Hedwig, it is like I have imagined magic as a child." He lowered his voice. "In the nights when the cupboard appeared even smaller, the small blanked simply not enough and my stomach especially empty then… sometimes I would think about the possibilities. About how my life would have been if my parents didn't die. If my family actually loved me…and… and if magic existed. In this dark, cold and lonely night I imagined it to be exactly like this. And once or twice when I imagined it especially hard I even thought I could really feel it…"

The light had faded out and Harry examined his perfectly fine looking clothes. He blinked as he realised that his wishes had been complete without him even focusing on it completely. His wand hadn't been used either nor a spell. He couldn't help but gape at his clothes uncomprehendingly.

'Maybe you did, dear one.'

"Mmh…?" Harry asked distractedly.

'Maybe you did feel your magic back then, your true potential. After all children are more in touch with their surroundings than adults. They often notice things older people do not, one of the reasons being that their view is not yet too restricted by prejudices and expectations.'

The only response she received was a raised eyebrow. Hedwig's eyes narrowed.

'I said maybe you could feel your magic even back then. It would certainly explain how it felt. The magical core of a child is wild and free; an untameable force with the tendency to cause havoc.' Hedwig's eyes were unquestionable amused. 'Many a time wizards have regretted underestimating the magical core of their children and the chaos it can cause.' The mischievous spark in her eyes said loud and clear that she had witnessed more than one such incident.

'It develops and changes over time as the child itself does.' She tilted her head. 'The treatment you received in your childhood could have been one of the reasons for your magic to change so drastically.' Her head tilted to the other side. 'Outer influences another one.'

Harry merely sighed not willing to open that particular can of worms just yet. Looking his clothes over again he remembered his previous train of thoughts.

"I wasn't completely correct before. It doesn't feel exactly the way I imagined it as a child. It is stronger, more alert and very potent." He paused for a moment confused. "It is also very intent… eager to be used. Now that I have used it, it is like a soothing buzzing in the back of my mind; at the ready whenever I need it." He hummed thoughtfully. "Despite my magic feeling free in my imagination as a child it had always had that certain edge; an edge of restrain, of shackles or maybe a barrier." He held his hands in front of his eyes. "Now, though…" A white ball of light formed in each of his hands; the 'lumos' neither spoken nor thought. "Now, there remains no edge. It is held back by nothing but me. It's free."

Hedwig hooted and he let the lights dissipate again. When he looked up he was met with Hedwig's amused eyes.

'It appears Death was as kind as to rid you of any limiters you previously put on you; beside the natural one that is. Since the change to your magic was no small one you will have some problem issues. Although you don't appear to have any problems with easy tasks like conjuring mirrors and casting light at the moment you shouldn't rely on it too heavily.' Her eyes sparkled. 'After all who knows what your next attempt at magical transportation will do now that your magic is suddenly so different'

Pausing for a moment she pointedly ignored the horror-struck look Harry gave her. 'I guess that means the git does have his good points. Who would have thought?' Her eyes took on an unholy sparkle. 'As few and in-between they might be.'

Electricity crackled in the air and Harry took a step away from the owl. She had obviously lost her mind, making fun of Death like that.

'He apparently also still lacks the ability to keep his stalker tendencies under control.'

An electric shock zipped through the air. Flapping wings could be heard. Then smoke filled the air as the bent-in building behind Hedwig was hit. The owl's eyes practically glowed with glee. Harry gaped.

'Anyway, please conjure a mirror, dear. We are running out of time.'

His friend calmly preened her feathers ignoring the slowly dissipating electricity; acting as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Being caught off guard Harry could only stare at her bewildered.

"What do you…?"

'You stirred the magical community up quite a bit. If you want to prevent being interrogated, we need to hurry this up.' She looked up. 'There is also a complete new world waiting to be explored. Now, the mirror, please.'

Closing his eyes, he coaxed his magic to create the mirror he wanted. It was a simple enough task. He only needed to picture the small hand mirror and his magic all too willingly formed itself into the shape he wanted. Glancing down to make sure it worked, he froze. Doing a double take he couldn't help but stare.

'Apparently Death was not only referring to your magic when he said he changed your history. As it turned out your previous burst of magic wasn't completely without focus; beside redecorating this street it also changed you. Death truly enjoys messing with you too much.'

Harry stood still. Shock freezing him in place. His usual reflection couldn't be seen in the mirror. No, in its place was a stranger. Although a stranger bore some eerie similarities to him. Enlarging the mirror with a wave of his magic he put it on the floor and waited. Once it reached its intended size he stepped back and stared.

The reflection in the mirror portrayed a man a bit shorter than Harry with wavy black hair that was near shoulder length. He had smooth alabaster skin that was covered in dirt and the most intense and enticing green eyes he had ever seen. No glasses were to be seen. His hair even looked tameable, though it was currently knotted together in the worst ways possible with dust and mud sticking to it. The most shocking thing, however, was that there was no lightning bolt on the face of that man. Instead there was a birthmark in the shape of a stick, a cloak and a stone.

'Your feathers will need less preening now, though longer feathers make preening more difficult. Not that I will stop, mind you. Such a little challenge won't stop me.'

Slowly tearing his eyes from his, oh-my-gosh-it-was-really-HIS, reflection he stared at the bemusing creature. Then back to his reflection and to the owl again. Potter luck, indeed.

'The birthmark on your head symbolises the Deathly Hallows. That demonstrates the gits personality quite well actually. After all it is so like him to basically brand his Master.' She paused thoughtfully. 'Though don't worry about that. There are more important things to take care of.'

Clearing his throat Harry asked hesitantly, "Such as?" He flinched a bit when he realised that even his voice had changed. It sounded very enticing. Not even bothering with wondering how he hadn't noticed the change before he sighed.

His voice was higher now, not uncomfortable so, but it made it sound softer, smoother. Shaking his head he resolutely shoved the whole concept of his new appearance away from his mind. He would have time to freak out about it later. Probably. Maybe.

'Well, …' Hedwig's voice was filled with unholy glee. 'let's start with that feathers of yours, shall we?'

Harry yelped and stumbled back as Hedwig suddenly left her porch and flew towards him like a bullet, putting her claws in his shoulders and viciously attacked his hair. It was truly terrifying. Dirt and dust flew from his hair in a speed previously thought impossible without the use of magic. His knotted waves were untangled in rapid succession; a beak working away on it with quick and effective movements. Harry felt a shiver go down his spin. Within mere seconds Hedwig had sorted out all the 'feathers' on the right side of his head. He didn't want to know how she did it. He shuddered again when his friend switched sides and treated the other side of his scalp with the same terrifying treatment.

When she was finally finished he was pale and shaky. His hair was shiny. It appeared as though he had washed and brushed his hair for hours. He really didn't want to know how she managed that.

He breathed out a sigh of relief when she finally flew back to her previous perch on the pile of bricks. Using the space given Harry called upon his magic and made sure the rest of his body was clean as well; the tingling of the unspoken cleaning spell calming his riffled nerves.

Checking his mirror image warily he noted that he was finally fully clean and presentable again. There was no outward evidence of his more than a little rough day to be seen. Not wanting to look at the strange, his, reflection anymore he quickly vanished the mirror.

'Now, it is time we make our way to the alley. It has been a while since your burst of magic and the authorities are probably making their way here at this very moment. We will have to blend into the masses before that.' Hedwig flapped her wings and took to the air. 'I recommend putting a glamour on your birthmark beforehand though. No need to draw unnecessary attention…or more of it anyway.' Harry could barely see her now. 'You don't have to worry about the distance between us, dear one. I will stay close enough to not strain our new bond. Wouldn't do for our familiar bond to be taxed while it hasn't had time to stabilise properly yet.'

Running a hand through his hair and sighing at the new length he quickly made his way towards the exit. He paused only briefly to cast a glamour over the strange symbols on his head. Shoots and yells could be heard from the alleyway. Spell lights were blazing through the air in front of the entrance in rapid succession. It was strange how it was still so loud, many people should have made their hasty retreat by now. That he hadn't seen any authorities yet was only a token of how much chaos the remaining people were causing.

Taking a deep breath, he prepared himself as best as he could and stepped out into the light of the alleyway; ducking all the wayward spells as he went. The second he had stepped out of immediate danger his heartbeat fastened even more. This was certainly not what he had been expecting.

From somewhere above Harry thought he saw Hedwig's amused gaze.

'Welcome to Dragon alley, dear one.'


End file.
